For those who are not used to online shopping, e-commerce platforms can be a scary place. The typical paranoia new online shoppers face include questions like, ‘What if the item I purchase doesn’t arrive like how it was showcased?’ or ‘What if I make the payment and the item never arrives?’
And of course, we can’t forget the most important question all Malaysians worry about,
‘What if I get scammed?’
Thankfully, Shopee has taken to their platform to share a set of comprehensive guidelines on how to avoid the various scammers that may be lurking on their site.
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They wrote, “Don’t be an easy target for scammers! Shopee wants to bring you the best buying and selling experience. Don’t let scammers ruin it – stay alert with these scam examples.”
12 scam methods that every online shopper should look out for
They included 12 different scam methods so that customers can look out for these possible situations and protect themselves accordingly.
The 12 different scams include:
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- Stealing bank account details scam
This happens when a scammer sends an SMS to a victim, mimicking a transaction confirmation from an e-commerce website. Scammers do this in an effort to make a victim think that their debit or credit card is being used fraudulently.
- Sponsored post scam
Sponsored post scams are when scammers target victims by using sponsored posts on social media while using e-commerce logos to impersonate the platform.
- Shopee unofficial channels scam
Scammers would impersonate Shopee through unofficial channels such as via SMS or so forth, to contact a victim and claim that they have won a prize from a Shopee campaign where victims are ‘required’ to provide sensitive information such as login details. However, communication concerning all prizes and giveaways should come from official Shopee channels.
- Direct payments scam
In this case, scammers would reach out via channels such as WhatsApp, posing as Shopee staff while requesting that the victim make a direct transfer for any pending payments. These scammers may ask you questions to “verify” your account but in reality, they’re just collecting your personal details.
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- Refund for overpaid orders scam
This scam targets sellers, where a scammer will make an order and insist on proceeding with the purchase outside of the Shopee platform. The scammer would then fake a bank transfer that shows that they have overpaid and insist that they receive a refund.
- Direct bank transfer scam
This is when a scammer poses as a seller and pressures victims to make a direct bank transfer for the items they are interested in. However, when payment is made, victims will never receive their products.
- OTP/Sensitive information scam
Scammers who pose as sellers will refrain from shipping items after orders have been placed, and will contact the customer to request for the OTP to ‘verify the account’. The scammer will then gain access to the customer’s account with the OTP.
- Phishing websites scam
This is when a victim is tricked into logging into Shopee via a website that is disguised to look like an official platform. When the victim logs in, the scammer gains access to their account, allowing them to steal personal and banking information.
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- Pop-up advertisement scam
Scammers will sometimes use pop-up advertisements on websites to lure victims into thinking they’ve won a prize. These adverts tend to sport Shopee logos to make victims think that it is an official post.
- Parcel scam
This is where a scammer sends an SMS to a victim, convincing them that they have an unclaimed ‘package’ that cannot be delivered, with a link as to where they can ‘claim it’. However, when the victim clicks on the link in the SMS, the scammer will claim that they are from a courier company and contact the victim to inform them that the parcel couldn’t proceed to delivery due to ‘certain reasons.’ Some excuses may include reasons like shipping costs have not been paid or the goods have unpaid tax.
- Fake seller centre scam
Sellers may receive a WhatsApp message from someone claiming to be a Shopee staff member. The scammer will then convince the seller that they have products up that are considered prohibited and pressure the seller to delete the product with a link given. Sellers will then use the link that will direct them to a fake login page where scammers can hijack a seller’s account.
- Private message scam
This is when scammers attempt to gain a victim’s personal information via messages on social media platforms, by offering purchases that are too good to be true.
These guidelines take into account how different scammers would reach out to customers, what customers can look at to determine whether they are being scammed and what to do to avoid it.
“Don’t give scammers a chance! Remember these tips to keep yourself safe,” they added.
You can check out the full set of guidelines here!
What do you think about this? Let us know in the comment section.
Also read: This Shopee Page Actually Sells Words Of Encouragement For RM0.20 And They’re Not The Only Ones!
